Then I took the render layer with the glass reflections and put it in the correct position selecting the screen blending mode. I still felt that the atmosphere outside was not enough strong and dramatic. I put on top of the background the Depth of Field render element selecting the Color Dodge blending mode. This separates more all the objects and gives a more vibrant look to the background. I even added some smoke just using a soft white airbrush with low opacity, in particular behind the ship to define better the outline of the vehicle. This gives the feeling that mechanical objects are at work in the hangar (Fig.16 - 17).

Fig. 16

Fig. 17

I still felt that the lighting was too generic, with no precise direction. I added a lens flare on Screen mode in the same position as the 3D rectangular light on top of the hangar. Then I painted some vignetting on the edge of the frame with a soft black airbrush with low opacity. Now the direction of the light was clear and there was a nice transition from the brightest area of the image over the ship and the darker edge of the frame. This was an important step to make the image powerful (Fig.18).

Fig. 18

Then there was another important step. The material of the hallway was too clean and polished. To make it look a bit more believable I took the image of a rust texture or concrete texture and blended it on top of the hallway on Overlay mode. This procedure gave a nice amount of detail and imperfection to the image and that's why I considered any texturing in the 3D package unnecessary (Fig.19).

Fig. 19

You can use this technique and multiple textures to add complexity to your geometry. I just blended an ice texture on top of the glasses, masking it out with a soft airbrush and leaving the texture just along the edges of the glass, creating a nice condensation effect.

To complete the hallway I added some photo elements to enrich the design, such as a couple of fire extinguishers and a caution sign on the portals. I even added a grid texture on the floor and a futuristic door at the end of the corridor. I color corrected the image using Curves and then added shadows with a soft black airbrush where necessary (Fig.20).

Michael Cornelius on Fri, 20 July 2012 10:42am Amazing work from start to finish, you make it look so easy, I myself have just started in the 3D world and find it hard to get inspiration for work sometimes but im learning and growing . Hope to have your kind of talent, yet again great piece